The present application relates to a molded resilient fastener for securing an object to a support.
Typical prior art molded fasteners are designed to resist tensile and or shear stresses. But in general, these fasteners do not resist bending stresses all that well. In response, various structures have been developed to resist bending stresses. However, these structures typically require that relatively complex apertures or holes be formed in the support to allow the fastener to be secured thereto. In many instances, these complex apertures are not feasible and in any case, require special tooling and set up that increases the cost of manufacturing. Accordingly, it is a feature of the present invention to simplify the type of aperture or hole needed to secure a molded fastener to a support. Another feature is to provide a fastener that resists bending stresses applied thereto.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent upon careful consideration of the following Detailed Description of the Invention and the accompanying Drawings, which may be disproportionate for ease of understanding, wherein like structure and steps are referenced generally by corresponding numerals and indicators.
The features of the present invention are realized in a fastener for securing an object to a support that comprises a base member with a hooked tail, an attachment structure, and a retention member. The base member of the fastener has a first side and a second side. The attachment structure of the fastener extends from the first side of the base member and the hooked tail extends from the second side of the base member. Note that the attachment structure is constructed and arranged to secure the object to the fastener. The hooked tail is constructed and arranged to extend through a hole formed through the support in such a way that the end of the tail will resiliently contact the under surface of the support as the base member contacts the upper surface of the support. The retention member of the fastener is housed at least partially within a recess formed in the hooked tail near where the tail attaches to the base member. The root end of the retention member is secured within the recess. The tip of the retention member has a groove that engages an interior surface of the hole through which the hooked tail is inserted. The retention member is furthermore arranged such that any forces that would tend to withdraw the hooked tail of the fastener from the hole will be resisted substantially in compression.
The hole through which the hooked tail is inserted has a simple geometric shape that may be chosen from a group that comprises a circle, a square, a rectangle, a triangle, a hexagon, and an oval, or any other suitable shape. Note that the tail of the fastener is suitably adapted to be inserted through the hole and may be either curvilinear or rectilinear in shape or any other suitable shape. Furthermore, the cross-sectional area and shape of the hooked tail may be consistent over the length of the tail, or may vary in either size or shape along the length of the tail.